


The Past Can Affect The Present And Future

by Axel_Estan



Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: And A Decent Fucking BF, Could become DaveKat or SolKat, Everyone Is Alive, Fuck-Tons of Possible Triggers Later, Heartbreak, Humanstuck, Hurt/Comfort, Karkat Needs a Hug, M/M, Multi, No One Likes To Talk Much About The Game, Not Exactly Sadstuck, Post-Sburb/Sgrub, Reader Influence Can Change The Direction Of The Story, Warnings May Change, Weird Bromance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-09
Updated: 2014-05-15
Packaged: 2018-01-24 02:13:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1587887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Axel_Estan/pseuds/Axel_Estan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karkat Vantas is terrible with his own relationships, the only one he's managed to hang on to would be with his roommate / Best Bro. Settled into a nice house with his best bro, they split the rent and share their emotional loads of baggage to prevent from being crushed. It's a delicate balance, so what happens when it gets upset?</p><p>AN: Shitty Description is Shitty. Anywho, First posted Foray into writing Homestuck. Constructive criticism is appreciated. This story is loosely based on Real Life experience. I'm sure the characters are going to seem a little OOC so Sorry. ALL the Tags are subject to change, watch out for that shit. If you have issues with certain things that crop up, I will go through and post warnings at the top of chapters if there is no warning for such in place. This story is M/M so none of the three main boys will suddenly end up with all ladies on their arms, but there may be F/M and F/F pairings that crop up. Chapter 4 is up!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Late Nights And Sassy Cats

**Author's Note:**

> Can't really think of anything to tag for a trigger here. Unless sulking or Weird Broship triggers you. Or Cats. If that triggers you then well this isn't for you. Also, please note this has Yaoi coming up later, and possibly other things and possibly sex. Homestuck belongs to Hussie, as do the characters. But the Cat is mine. Best fucking cat ever, always listens to my rants. I doubt anyone read this but hey, doesn't hurt to try. Please enjoy, and remember if you comment your suggestions could affect the story. OwO

Sollux Captor and Karkat Vantas had been dating for nearly 4 years on and off due to Sollux's family mostly moving away. Being young and with a long-distance relationship, it grew hard on the pair to keep it together. They did their best to hold onto one another, but all that shattered the night Sollux ran away. The call came from his mother, who still lived nearby. Karkat tried everything he could think of to get ahold of Sollux, to no avail. After a few months, Sollux's mom told him that her son had called, and he was alive and well in Puerto Rico.  
Three years passed, with barely any talk between the pair; Karkat had sunk into a strange state of constant cycle of despair and disappointment, shutting down his thoughts with work when his ex came up in his mind. He didn't feel bad off enough for medication, therefore refusing offered therapy and such, doing his best to deal on his own. Ending up with a Sort of Crap job at a nightclub was not how the Cancer had thought his life would go, but it paid the bills and the tips were decent. He had a little house, with a Rent-to-Own sort of agreement. The previous owner didn't want the little home but was wary of giving it up too fast, so they came up with a written contract, and Karkat nearly had the thing paid off. In another few months if everything went half-decent in his life, he'd officially own the home, and would only need to pay for the Utilities and taxes.

\---

It was starting to get a little late, and Karkat's room mate should be home soon. The cancer sighed, looking at the clock before glancing back to the old file on his laptop. He opened it, flicking through it's contents. He came across a few pictures and an old virus, a small smile drawing up the corners of his mouth. The picture was from their first vacation. Sollux had come with Karkat's family to a Machine Gun Show and Shoot. They had goofed around that day, listening to the explosions on the range, the gunfire, seeing all the things for sale and playing around with some stuff. The first one had been taken without their notice, the second they had posed for. A soft giggle escaped him as he remembered the taser vs Sollux incident. He was brought out of his reverie by a droplet of water landing on his arm. He blinked, looking around the room for the source. But there really wasn't anything that could have done it. He frowned touching the droplet gently as he stood and headed for the kitchen. A heaviness filled his mind at thoughts of his ex. The way they didn't really have a clean break, and the lingering questions he would really like to ask the lispy jerk.  
A streak of grey across the tile alerted the black haired boy that his cat was ready to be fed. He leaned over, dumping some food in its bowl ( A Blue hunk of plastic with Mayhem written on it in Sharpie, a spot on name for the slightly wacky ass cat with a sort of flame pattern to its grey fur,) before he went back to making a pot of coffee. He couldn't push Sollux out of his mind, not after finding that file. He sighed, the dull ache in his chest not helping. He wandered around, for once letting his brain settle on Sollux and wonder about him. What his life was like, if he'd forgotten all the good and or bad memories that came with their shared past. "I can't believe I even give a shit anymore." Mayhem looked up from his bowl, one of the little white marks above his eyes raised above the other. It was an uncanny look that said, 'You're still hung up on him?' The Cancer blew a sigh, "Fuck you cat, what the hell do you know about managing relationships?" The cat stared him down, hunter green eyes glittering as if to reply, 'I lured your stupid ass into taking me, and letting me become king of your house.' Karkat glared at the grey mass of fur until he turned his nose up to the foodbowl, sauntering out of the room looking way more haughty than any cat should.

The boy poured the finished coffee into a carafe, scooping up a box from the counter as he grabbed a cup, making his coffee perfectly to his tastes. With steaming mug in hand, he stepped out onto the porch, settling into a large wooden reclined chair. A flare of fire lit up his features, the glowing red end of his cigarette stood out in the dark of night. He checked the time, a puff of smoke going out his nostrils. He'd learned the trick late in high school to cheer his friend Terezi up.  
Being legally blind hadn't bothered the girl, she could see a bit, and her other senses picked up the slack. What had her upset was her mother's insistence on her getting corrective surgery. By the end of it, Terezi didn't get the surgery, and Karkat had done the trick so much it became second nature. She'd always said it made him look like her Scalemates. She loved the things so much she sewed one just for him, and of course had another of their friends knit it a damn sweater.  
He let out a near silent chuckle, remembering all the amazing friends he had and lost contact with made his chest ache worse. The creeping feeling of being alone had began to settle in his stomach, checking his watch without really seeing the time. His coffee was half empty by the time he chanced a look at the moon. It was only Half of the entire whitish grey orb that hung in the sky, but it made his throat constrict. He once managed to wrangle the entire group of Assholes and Snarky Broads into watching the moon come up. It was a far from quiet affair, but it was so much fun. It was one of the last times they'd all been able to get together. The falling out between Aradia and Vriska should have been something they all saw coming. Once people began taking sides, the Cancer knew they may well never be able to get together as a whole group again.

A sleek black and red mustang pulled into the drive. Headlights passing over Karkat's squinted eyes drew him from his musings on the past. His roommate was home later than usual, which wouldn't have been a problem before they'd become good friends. The tall blonde stepped out, hurrying up the stairs only to stop when he saw Karkat on the porch. "Oh. You're still awake this late?" The black haired boy snorted, "I couldn't sleep Strider. What's your excuse?" The blonde sighed, flopping into the chair beside Karkat, filching his coffee and sneaking a sip. "John needed a ride home again. I swear he's messing up his car up on purpose." Brown eyes rolled while Dave slid his shades down his nose, looking the Cancer over better. "So what's up with you KarCrab?" The smaller boy huffed, grinding out his smoke in the ashtray. "Nothing," he lied. The blonde frowned just a bit, leaning over to put an arm around his friend. He knew it was bad when Karkat didn't push him away. The cancer took back his coffee, finishing it as he leaned into the half assed hug.  
"Looks like you need a little bro time man." Dave stood, picking up his grumpy friend. "Dave, damn it put me down." He shoved a bit at the blondes chest, still holding the mug. The pitiful attempt for escape made Dave's chest ache. He knew what was bothering his friend now. Heartbreak was rough, and the sort of shattering Karkat had been through along with the lack of closure made it much harder than it should have. He carried him to the living room, plopping the cancer onto the couch. "Stay," he said simply, taking the mug to the kitchen. He made two cups of coffee, bringing them back with a small box of candy from the fridge. With the items on the table, he stepped to their entertainment center, flipping through Karkat's and his movies to find one of the few they both liked.  
  
Dave had come home a while back, surprised to see that his friend was watching Astro Boy, a pretty decent animated movie Dave had had for a while. After a few weird nights, they gathered their collections and began discussing their likes and dislikes for film choices.  
He plucked Lilo and Stitch from its case, because that movie was just fucking awesome, no matter how old you were. With the movie ready to go he turned to Karkat, who had their movie night blanket folded in his lap. The blonde flopped into his usual spot, grabbing their box of candy and tugging the wrap off. He plucked one out, popping it into his mouth with a hum while Karkat fished one out for himself. Dave couldn't resist the smile that pulled up the corner of his lips as he broke the outer shell of the candy, the sharp flavor of the bourbon mixed with the liquid-y inside contrasting so well with the sweet chocolate. The candies were a little on the expensive side, but they were reserved for when one or the other had a rough day. By half through the movie, they'd each had three of the candies.  
With minds distracted and slightly buzzed, they changed their seating arrangements. Dave stretched his legs out, helping Karkat up to his side on the large couch. Once they were settled in, the cancer spread the blanket out over them, putting his head on Dave's side. The blonde let out a little laugh. "I'm never going to get used to you being a cuddly drunk." A pillow met his face, no doubt snuck from the other side of the couch. "Shaddup Dave, get comfy before I fall asleep on you." The blonde took the pillow, tucking it under his head so he wouldn't have a sore neck tomorrow. Thank God they didn't have work; with how Karkat had been when he got home, Dave doubted the cancer would have had any sort of positive outlook. That would have made the day much harder on them both.  
Dave set his shades on the table, settling in as Karkat dozed off. The movie continued in the background, leaving a nice comforting white noise for the pair to go to sleep by, content with dreamless sleep.  



	2. It's A Fuck Everyone And Everything Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mornings suck. Cats claws suck. Lots of things suck in the mornings, but it can get better with good entertainment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some DaveKat fluff in here. Watch out for the cursing, and just a little blood. We aren't into any serious shit yet, trying to keep it light so it's not like Sunshine and Kittens, then Satan burst forth from the ground and turned the sun into a raging inferno encroaching on earth and imploded the kittens to summon hoards of hellspawn forth and let them slaughter everything in sight. Because that shit's just wrong. Anywho, please enjoy.

The cancer woke with a hell of a headache, eyes fluttering open before slamming shut as he scrambled to get up. "Shit, fucking stupid past me, God Damn!" He did his best to feel his way to the bathroom, making a helluva racket. After tripping over a chair, stubbing his toe on the corner of a wall, and nearly headbutting the door, he made it to his destination, forcing the stubborn creaky door open with a growl. He shoved the door closed to limit the light in the room and hissed as he opened his eyes as far as he could. Quickly, he plucked his contacts out and put them in the case beside the sink, scowling. His eyes burned as he forced them to stay open, practically pouring the redness and pain relief drops in his eyes. He grabbed a bottle of Ibuprofen/Advil from the cabinet and dry swallowed two of the pills, bending over the sink to gulp water when one got stuck in his throat. He squinted as trudged his way back to the living room, surprised to see a disheveled and still sleepy looking Dave bringing him a gel ice pack to put over his eyes. "You really should get those new contacts you can leave in for weeks, since you can't remember to take those out," the blonde commented, He began smirking a bit as Karkat snatched the ice pack, flopping on the couch and laying it on his face. "Got anything planned for today or can we have a fuck-everything-and-one day?" The smaller boy groused, changing the subject from the major screw up of last night.  


The blonde shrugged, trademark shades perched on the top of his head as he leaned down to Karkat's ear. "Pssst, KarCrab," he whispered, doing his best not to let a wicked grin settle on his face. "What now?" he lifted the ice pack to squint at the doofus, puffy eyes making him look much worse for wear. With his best poker face, the taller boy pressed a chaste kiss to the middle of Karkat's forehead. "You look like shit, no way we're going out if you'll just be super grumpy, man." He swiftly moved out of reach as the raven headed boy snarled, swiping once at his now out of reach friend. "Dammit, get close again so I can punch you in your smartass face!" The older boy just stepped away, heading for the kitchen as he slid his shades into place.  
  
Karkat made a weird grumbling huff, letting the icepack rest over his eyes again as he felt a familiar weight slinking onto his chest for a snuggle. One hand moved to scritch behind the cat's ears, the other dangling limply off the couch. The computer on the table pinged, but was ignored for the time being. The cancer was quite content, relaxing while the cat purred so loud it filled the silence of the room. Beyond the purr, he could faintly hear Dave cooking. The soft clink of a pan on the stove, and sizzle of something possibly edible cooking in the pan this time. A slight smile perked the corners of his lips, remembering how they had turned cooking meals into a competition. The upside is both of them had learned to cook better, even if Karkat still had the upper hand with more experience.  


A warbled meow sounding like 'Hello' issued from Mayhem, and he nudged Karkat's chin gently. "Yeah yeah, I didn't mean to forget you, crazy little shit," he mumbled to his grey fluffball. The feline began purring again when the scritching continued, tail flopping toward the back of the couch. "Yo Kitkat, food!" "Not hungry." He scowled, ignoring the quiet rumble from his stomach. "Karkitten if you don't come eat I will tell Kanaya," Dave's voice floated in laced with a coy undertone. "You jack-muffin prick bastard! Don't you dare!" Karkat sat up, flinching as the cat sunk his claws in through his thin sweatshirt, scratching his stomach until the skin gave way. Said cat was a bit shaken from being moved so quickly, and dug his claws deeper.  
The boy grimaced, clenching his jaw to prevent spewing profanities as he freed Mayhem's claws from his skin, trying to keep the freaked out cat calm until he got the claws free. With one paw left to go, the ice pack that had faithfully stuck to his forehead decided to fall. If Dave had seen it, he would have undoubtedly called it the greatest treachery ever performed by a simple lowly ice pack. As it was with the cancer's luck, it bonked the already frightened cat, causing it to jerk. Claws tore free of skin and Mayhem fled, taking off like a bat out of hell for the back of the house. The boy yelped, putting a hand over the minor injuries as he got off the couch, searching for the poor feline to apologise.  
  
Meanwhile in the Kitchen, Dave dumped the scrambled eggs on the plates, proud of himself for the lack of egg shells and burned spots. He heard the yelp while he was putting the pan into the dishwasher, so he headed to the livingroom as Karkat stumbled his way to one of the bedrooms. "Kat?" He called, following him around the corner to the Cancer's bedroom. He had to stifle the laughter attempting to bubble up as he spied Karkat crawled mostly under the bed, soothing the insane ball of fluff that was supposed to be their pet, tucked in the far corner. He flipped out his phone, snapping a picture before Karkat could glance his way. At the sound of the phone verifying the picture was taken, the raven haired boy snapped his head around to look at Dave, glaring daggers. "STRIDER!"  


After ten minutes of an angry Karkat chasing down his stupid friend for the picture and failing to catch him, they settled down to eat their lukewarm breakfast. "Slippery little fucker," the raven groused, rubbing the scratches on his stomach. Dave just flashed a little smile, leaning back in his chair when he had finished his awesome scrambled eggs. "Let me see what our other resident crazy did to your stomach." The smaller boy scoffed, shoving his chair back. "Any reason to get me out of my shirt huh?" he joked sarcastically. Dave tipped his head down, looking over his shades. "Of course Kitkat, getting you out of your shirt is the highlight of my day." The blonde managed an impressive pokerface as he wiggled his eyebrows, causing the smaller boy's ears and cheeks to light up bright red. "Screw you," he snapped, but there wasn't real heat in the words, just embarrassment. He tugged the sweatshirt up, revealing the irritated scratches and a set of deeper claw marks. "It's not too bad," Karkat mumbled, feeling a little exposed. Dave frowned just slightly, grabbing a cloth and the small medical kit from the kitchen drawer. After wetting the cloth he passed it to the smaller boy, making a note that fewer of his ribs were showing now. Still, the blonde thought about making larger meals for Karkat.  
The nearly painfully thin boy in front of the blonde used to have a good bit more weight on him. Dave remembered when Karkat's clothes didn't swamp him. When he had all that well controlled strength and technique from training with those wicked sickles he'd gotten for a birthday present when he was ten. With the natural talent and slowly increasing speed he had been learning, it had made him a formidable strife partner for those days when Bro was too busy. After the shit hit the fan for the raven haired boy, he'd lost a great deal of the little extra baby fat and hard earned muscle he had. Skin and bones was a terrible look on Karkat, something he didn't want to see again.  
He shook his head a bit, shaking the thoughts loose from the front of his mind. He wouldn't dwell on the bad shit he knew and try to guess to fill in the blanks today. Karkat seemed like he'd dwelled on some of it last night, which was a bit saddening. The safe route was to avoid it and keep them both in good spirits for the day, and thats exactly what the young Strider planned to do.  


Within a few minutes, the little bit of blood was wiped off, antiseptic applied, and Dave was dabbing on antibiotic ointment. "There, all better. How's your eyes doing?" Dave asked, dipping his head down to look over his shades at Karkat's much less puffed up eyes. "They're better. Careful Strider, someone might think you give a fuck." The tall boy snorted softly. "Nah man, I don't give fucks, but I do watch out for my friends, even the grumpy ones like you Krab-cakes." "Sure we'll go with that. Where the hell do you get all these fucking nicknames for me from anyway?" Dave chuckled, packing away the first aid kit and gathering up their dishes from breakfast. "Magic, Kitkat," he replied simply, walking off to get cleaned up.

\---

The clock rolled around to 4 pm, with both house occupants settling on the covered porch as they watched the slight chance of rain prediction, by the terrible weather guy, turned into a full blown downpour. Karkat was partially soaked, having took off into the warm cascading water the moment it started coming down fast. He'd just ran around the house, doing whatever it was he loved to do in the rare warm rainstorms. Dave had went inside and made coffee for them both, snagging a towel for his Crabby friend for when he decided to come back to shelter from the rain.  
"You look like a drowned rat Karks." A snort, the tapping of the rain drowning out a soft sigh. "You look like a pretentious bag of Dicks, Dave," came the sharp reply, and they both began chuckling softly. "Why can't more days be like this?" He asked, tugging the towel around his shoulders off. His hair was fluffed, still damp from rain but pushed up from his face. The blonde tried not to smile, finding the Cancer much more cute than he should have. He took a moment to reprocess what the other had said, mulling over his answer a moment. "Life sucks, Stress sucks, Other people suck? I don't really know what to tell you, other than maybe if we stopped pretending to be so damn serious when it's just us, we might have more days like this." Crimson eyes met the other nearly matching set, and they shrugged simultaneously. "Should we add that to the rules list or will you burn it like the others?" The raven snarked, his slightly darker red eyes flicking from Dave's to the roof above their heads. "Yeah, probably," he gave a 'what can you do' shrug, scooping up his coffee and sipping it while Karkat lit up his first smoke of the day.  
  
"At least you're being honest about it." They sat like this, just relaxing and unwinding to the beat of the rain on the tin above their heads, lulling them nearly to sleep. In the comforting environment, they could relax, knowing one another would be alright for today at least.  



	3. What Are We, And Who The Hell Is That?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for Weird Bromance, and other things of the like. Little bit of Davekat, and a whole lot of odd. Also, the 'Shitdick' insult was from that anon that goes by huhuhu.

The harsh red light of the alarm clock beside his bed reminded him once again that he really should be going to sleep. But his mind was too busy, thoughts floating through and keeping him slightly occupied, thus preventing sleep. He sighed, kicking off his covers and crawling out of bed. He tiptoed out of his room, looking at the slightly ajar door across the hall. It was creepy as fuck to be sneaking a peak on your roommate while they slept, but he just couldn't resist the want to check on him.  
With a soft sigh, he crept across the hall, peeking through the crack. A frown pulled at his face, the bed was empty. A yawn from the living room caught his attention, and he made his way down the hall, avoiding the few squeaky boards of the wooden floor. The low glow of the laptop illuminated his roommate in all his drowsy, insomniac glory. His hair was ruffled up and messy, tapping softly on the keyboard. In the pale light his hands looked sort of fragile, and very pale. It was an odd thing, and Dave's stomach flopped a bit. He quelled the feeling, sliding up behind his friend and lightly putting a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, you know it's late as fuck right?" He asked in a softer-than-usual tone. He didn't want to sound too harsh, Karkat took things a bit harder during his bouts of insomnia. "Yeah, but I can't sleep," The boy blew a sigh, patting his pocket for his smokes. "Here," the blonde passed over the box from a side table, catching the grateful glance cast his way.  
"How the hell do you manage to sleep sometimes?" Dave frowned a bit again, "Sometimes I don't, like tonight." "Sorry," Karkat said immediately, going quiet as he stared at the computer in his lap. The silence seemed to stretch on for a very long time, before Karkat spoke again. "Dave...?" The blonde leaned down, lifting the laptop off the Cancer. "C'mon, outside to smoke." The pair shuffled outside, the blonde slipping one of Karkat's cigarettes and lighting it with the zippo from his pocket. The raven haired boy followed suit, and they lapsed into silence again.

"What are we?"

A tense silence followed, on the heels of the question like a starving dog after a lame rabbit.

"Survivors. This certainly wasn't how we all thought it would go, but we still survived."

Another silence, less tense, more melancholy.

"You don't blame me for what I fucked up because we rushed?"

A pale hand reached out, grasping one with nearly the same light tone.

"We were kids. Hell we're barely Adults now."

A sigh issued with a puff of smoke, tendrils curling around a pale face.

"Okay," Karkat sighed, turning his hand in the other's grip to rub soothing circles on the back of the pale hand.

The silence that dropped over them was much more mellow, calmer, as they simply sat. Their entwined hands wasn't a romantic gesture to them, being something they'd done only a few times on their worst days. It was stating, 'I'm here, I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you.'

The odd pair sat together, long after they'd finished their cigarettes, simply keeping one another company.

"Couch or the big bed?" A flash of a smirk.

"Bed, so you can't bitch about your back."

Their hands slid apart as they stepped inside, heading side-by-side down the long hallway to the big 'guest' room. Dave slid into the bed first, depositing his shades on the bedside table. Karkat climbed in after Dave was settled, turning to face his friend. "Night Dave," the Raven haired boy mumbled, letting his eyes close as the blonde shifted closer, waiting until the smaller boy was nearly asleep to reply.

"Night Karkat..."

\---

The clock read 8:30 am when Dave slid out of bed, checking the date before climbing into the shower. There was a strangeness in the air today. It was like a tension, a current of discomfort running just beneath the surface of everything. He frowned at himself, shaking his head a bit under the hot shower spray. He and Karkat had to work tonight, with it being Friday, the club would be open late and pretty packed. With his shower finished, he made his way to his room, poking around his closet for a decent outfit. Normally it wouldn't bother the blonde to just grab whatever, but something told him to pull out a nice pair of jeans and shirt. It was weird, how his brain was trying to tell him something was going to happen today. He grabbed his Ipod, popping the earbuds in and getting to work on Breakfast. Karkat wouldn't be up for another 15 minutes anyway. He slid into the kitchen, starting coffee and getting to work on some omelettes.  
'Am I wrong? For thinking that we could be something for real? Now am I wrong, for trying to reach the things I can't see? But that's just how I feel.'  
Dave tapped his foot along to the beat, wondering when he'd put this song onto his device. He pulled it from his pocket, staring at the song name and Artist. He'd never heard of Nico & Vinz, but the song was decent. He shrugged, getting back to the food before he let it burn.

Karkat stirred, cracking open sore eyes and blowing a sigh. Dave always got up before him, which sucked. He felt a weirdness settle into his stomach, wondering if he would ever be able to catch Dave asleep just to see what he looked like. Okay nope, totally not bro-like thoughts there. He pulled his mind out of that territory, scowling as he headed to shower.  
After 5 minutes, a record time for his showers, he climbed out, getting dressed in one of his few short sleeved shirts, and an annoyingly loose pair of jeans. He frowned, wondering if he'd grabbed the wrong pair. They used to be Skinny jeans on him, now they hung loose on his legs, and clung only slightly to his hips. Well, he'd figure out what was going on with his clothes later.

He glanced in the mirror, putting a few drops in his eyes and looking at his contacts. He had the brown pair cleaning, and a new set of black. They were supposed to be brown, but the order got mixed up so they would be sending him the secondary brown pair and letting him keep the black. With a sigh he debated, deciding to leave them out until he had to go to work. He ambled into the kitchen, rubbing one eye with the back of his hand. A cup of coffee was pushed into his hands, and he yawned, lightly patting the pale hand that passed it. "Thanks," he grumbled, sitting at the table and taking a few sips. Dave settled across the table, pushing him a plate of food. He settled in as well, digging into the omlette.  
The blonde had one earbud still in, listening to the song again after going through a few others. He had realized that he'd picked up the wrong Ipod, but was reluctant to stop listening, his curiosity to what the smaller boy thought was good music was too overwhelming. The opportunity was too good to pass up.

They ate in relative silence, the soft buzz of barely loud enough to hear music nearly had Karkat put back to sleep. His forehead rested on the edge of the table, his plate pushed away with one hand limply holding the handle of his coffee cup. Dave checked the time, surprised that it was only around 12 pm. He shrugged inwardly, deciding to let Karkat have his table nap. Their shift started at 9, so there was plenty of time for naps or goofing off. The Ipod in his hand made a soft alert tone in his ear, and he took it out to read the message, surprised by the sender. He read it over a few times, a frown pulling at his face.

 

When Karkat woke from his 'table nap', he had kindly been moved to the couch, and the house was mostly quiet. On the table sat his Ipod, and he grabbed it to check the time. When the screen lit up he frowned, surprised as the numbers read 3:22 pm. He scowled, noticing the icon for a new message from a chat application was dulled. It had been seen but not answered. He selected it, frowning at the all too familiar text

'I figured you would like the heads up, you're going to have company today. Have fun, I can't w8 for you to be on your knees thanking me! ::::)'

He growled at it, turning it to his music and flicking through the playlists as he shoved one earbud in. He needed to go out for a bit, and figured Dave had went out to go do whatever. As long as he was home before they had to get ready for work, he could ride with him. With a quick sweep through the house, he'd gathered his keys, phone, cigarettes, lighter, and jacket. He dug around and pulled out a pair of sunglasses, sliding them on in lieu of his contacts.

A soft voice came from somewhere outside, and it was hard to hear with one ear occupied with music. Out the kitchen door, he pulled a tarp off his bike. It would be faster, and with the slight cloud cover it would be cool enough to keep his jacket on. He slid on, settling in the seat and pushing it around the corner of the house beside Dave's car. He frowned, taking the earbud from his ear as he looked to the porch. Dave was standing there, facing out and talking to someone who was actually taller than the 5'11 beanpole. Karkat frowned, putting the key in the bike and turning it, checking the fuel level and plucking a Cigarette from his box. He started frowning as it was the last one, good thing he was going out. He lit it, taking a drag before glancing back to Dave and the other person on the porch, finger stilled on the ignition switch. "Look dude, I already told you he's asleep. I'll let him know you came by, and I'm sure he'll get back to you. For now you can either leave, or get to explaining your super shitdick move." 

The stranger sighed, "I don't trutht your fucking word, Thtrider. I jutht want to talk to him for a minute." Karkat froze, the tone and lisp all too familiar. He spotted the trademark 3D glasses, and knew he needed to leave.


	4. Nope The Fuck Out Of There

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I saved this as a draft and AO3 didn't really save it. I'm sorry for the late update, I had some trouble with it. Anyways, I a still waiting for a little input from you readers. I really want to see what kind of awesome stuff we can do by mixing my ideas and your suggestions together into the story. So please leave a comment, anon or not. And have I mentioned I don't have a Beta? I'm my own Beta for now. Thanks for your time though, on to the story then.

Karkat twisted the throttle once, twice, three times and hit the ignition. The motorcycle roared to life, and he knew with how loud the old bastard was, he'd have been noticed the second it started. He shifted his weight, bringing the kickstand up with his booted foot. With a last glance to the pair on the porch he took off. While giving them his trademark one finger salute as he went down the road, the cancer felt a little calmer, despite his lack of helmet. He'd have to remember to text Dave when he stopped to ask about what the hell was going on.

\---

It was almost 3 when the knock started on the door. Dave frowned, wondering if the crazy spider chick had done something dumb. With lighter in hand, he plucked one of the last two cigarettes from Karkat's box, sliding it behind one ear before answering the door. The man before him looked familiar, and those ridiculous 3D glasses set off alarm bells in the back of his mind. Yep, spider chick was now spider bitch. This guy, Captor he reminded himself, spoke first, stepping back when Dave moved forward onto the porch. "I need to talk to Kk." The white-blonde pulled the door closed behind him, wearing his best pokerface. "Nope."

Sollux blinked, "What the hell do you mean nope? He and I really need to have a converthation." Dave looked the other over, noting the dyed strips of red-blonde that clashed with the blue sheen of his natural black hair. Maryam would have a fit if she could see this guy. "I mean you can't talk to Karkat, he's sleeping. Also, springing a visit on him after this long gone is real fucking shitty, man." The slightly shorter man shook his head. "I don't have time for you to patronize me Thrider. And Kk never slept thith late in the day, he thaid-" "It makes him feel weird, yeah, but he needs the rest. I say you need to come back later Captor." "I can't thtay here forever you idiot. I need to talk to him before I have to go." Dave's eyes narrowed behind his shades, a slightly dangerous inflection seeping into his voice without his notice. "Karkat isn't one for surprises, Captor. You made sure of that."

The taller flinched back like he'd been burned, his own eyes narrowing behind his glasses. He couldn't believe the hipster jerk, acting like he knew Karkat as well as he did. "Fuck you Thrider, if you won't go tell him I'm here, I will do it mythelf," he snapped, tensely waiting. "Look dude, I already told you he's asleep. I'll let him know you came by and I'm sure he'll get back to you." Dave did his best to keep his tone level, his face perfectly blank. "For now, you can either leave or get to explaining your super shitdick move." Out of the corner of his eye, the natural blonde caught a glimpse of movement, but he didn't dare look. He refused to give this asshole an opening for an attack. Sollux sighed, looking frustrated. "I don't trust your fucking word Thrider. I jutht want to talk to him for a minute."Dave opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the roar of a familiar engine. His head snapped to the side, looking at Karkat as he took off on the beautiful black and red Iron Head.

It had the most intricate paintjob, red cracks of black and grey stone, akin to a flow of cooling lava cracking open, seeping out onto the stones. The Cancer hadn't much cared for the paintjob, but he treated that bike like it was among his greatest treasures. The sight of Karkat on the bike always stunned Dave, the blonde couldn't really admit it out loud, but his friend looked really fucking cool. With the sunglasses and leather jacket on, he seemed a lot less scrawny and beaten down.

Karkat had nearly died of shock when Dave presented him with the late birthday present. With a lot of help, they had both learned how to ride and got their motorcycle licenses. Rose had sent the cancer a very well taken care of Owner's Manual for the bike, and he'd poured over the book, figuring out how to do the basic maintenance and small repairs on the refurbished bike. When he hit a snag in the book over something, they'd called the mechanics. Dirk and Bro, who unfailingly aided via phone or in person on their random visits. The old bike was touchy some days, and the care of it worked well to distract the cancer from brooding, so did weekly rides to wherever Karkat decided to head.

Dave pulled himself out of his reverie to wave as Karkat flipped them off, looking like a badass with his leather riding jacket. He savored the look of utter shock that consumed the Gemini's expression. "Wath... Wath THAT Kk?" he asked, seeming to be choked with his own words. "Yep," the blonde said calmly, taking the cigarette from behind his ear and lighting it finally. The Gemini stared long after the bike was gone, his face screwed up in concentration. "I'll... be back tomorrow." He stepped off the porch, slipping a card from his pocket and flicking it back onto the porch at the other's feet. "Give him that, tho he knowth how to reach me if he doethn't want to talk face to face." With that, he headed down the road a bit, climbing into a black and yellow 69' Chevelle. Dave flipped out his phone, snapping a picture of the Gemini's license plate. When the car was out of sight, the blonde knelt and picked up the card. He had some time, and a friend who loved to stick her nose into things for the sake of an investigation. Which meant, he had work to do.

\---

Karkat rode for a long time, switching from back roads to the Highway for a while, enjoying the wind in his face as he headed to his destination. Taking the long way would be about 30 minutes to the store and back, so if he bumbled about in the store for a bit he could add at least 10 more minutes to the outing. He hoped to every possible higher power out there that Sollux would be gone from his porch by the time he returned. The Cancer felt a chill running down his spine, a deep cold settling over him. He was speeding down the highway, and a large truck around 30 feet in front of him stomped their brakes on. 'I don't want to stop...' The thought flashed through Karkat's mind before he hit his brakes, turning left into the empty lane beside the truck. His heart leapt into his throat, and his mind flicked through all the terrible scenarios he could imagine. Poor Dave, having to find his friend had been scraped up off the highway, Kanaya would be upset too, and so angry with him. He felt like such a coward, how could he have ever entertained these twisted thoughts again. If he wrecked and died here, he'd be so fucking pissed with himself for eternity.

The bike cleared the back only a second before he would have been smashed into the rear doors of the big rig. Adrenaline poured through his system, and he cranked the throttle, going faster than he should have in an attempt to reach somewhere safe before the boost wore away and the panic would set in. He made it to the store 10 minutes faster than he should have, and once he was parked he threw down the kickstand and got off the bike, ignoring the way his hands shook. He set his mind to simply getting the cigarettes he'd come out for. He bought four packs, tucking three in the front bag of his bike among some short tools before he let himself collapse beside the bike. It took him nearly two minutes to get a cigarette out and in his mouth, another minute to light it. Trying to work his phone was even harder, his entire body shaking like he was freezing to death.

He ended up calling Rose, knowing if anyone knew what the fuck was going on with him, it would be her with her psychoanalysis shit. As her soft, stern tone floated through the speaker, he tried to explain. "I-I nearly let myself get f-fucking creamed by a truck, and I think I'm shaking m-myself a-fucking-part. What the hell i-is wrong with me, a-and how do I fix it?!" A sigh filtered through as a rustling sound began, the clink of keys caught his attention through the phone. "Where are you Karkat?" He rattled off the street address, letting her go and doing his best to text Dave without letting him know something was wrong.

There was no way he could tell how long had passed before Rose pulled up beside his bike, her sleek black Honda Del-Sol sounding so quiet with the roar of his bike still stuck in his mind. She slid out of the driver's seat, putting a well manicured hand out to the cancer. "You need to stand up and walk with me. I'll explain as long as you keep moving with me." He let her lift him up with surprising ease, and she frowned at him. "Have you been eating?" "Of f-fucking course, when Dave makes something edible or when I cook," the raven haired boy snapped, following the lithe ash-blonde as she stepped up onto the sidewalk and headed around the building. "You are still quite underweight if I can lift you that easily." This earned a shuddery snort from the slightly shorter boy.

"Anyway, what you are experiencing is akin to a Panic Attack. The rush of adrenaline in your system left you, and now you are feeling a great deal of dread, and your body is reacting to the residual fear. What you need to do is to take long deep breaths, and let your body calm down so your mind will calm as well." He nodded a bit, taking deep breaths as he kept pace with Rose. It seemed like his mind went from a million miles an hour to much closer to a normal speed. Maybe all that weird brain shit that the Blonde girl knew had more truth to it than he'd ever thought.

"If this happens again, you need to take deep breaths, like you would in meditation. Actually, you could try to attempt meditation if you have another attack, I believe it would aid you." By the time they had rounded the building, Karkat had been brought down from a full blown attack to a slight trembling. "Should I call Dave to pick you up?" The Raven shook his head, "no way, he's dealing with S-..." Rose frowned at him, but didn't press, she'd ask Dave later if it was who she suspected. "I'm not quite sure you should be going home by yourself. I'll follow you back, and if you begin to have another attack, you will need to stop and get off the motorcycle." Before he could protest, she had stared him down with her passive but quite unnerving stare. "Fuck, fine! But if I have to get off my bike, I'm not leaving it anywhere!" He managed to nearly raise his voice to its regular tone.  
An hour had passed by the time he made it back home and parked the bike. He waved half-heartedly as Rose took off, no doubt to head home or off to some event for writers. With a sigh, he settled on the porch, staring out from his chair in silent contemplation. He didn't want to face Dave, because there would likely be questions. The clock on his phone warned it was 4:40, and the raven haired boy sighed, slipping into the house as quietly as he could.


End file.
